An de Souffrance
by Dimensional Traveler 009
Summary: Harry Potter is slandered by the Prophet for his claims on the Dark Lord's return. Harry faces A difficult year at Hogwarts as his Classmates resent and disapprove of the Boy-Who-Lies. Follow Harry as he fares through his 5th year facing Toads, Senile Headmasters and Prophet reading Classmates. All is not in vain for, Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times. HP/DG.
1. Prologue

**An de Souffrance**

* * *

**Prologue**

Platform 93/4, was one of the places Harry James Potter held sacred, for it was one of solid proofs handed over to him, one of the places that confirmed his doubts of being a wizard. Even after acquiring his wand, owl, cauldrons, and what not, there had been a small part of him that feared the whole him being a wizard issue, to be a prank by the Dursleys.

The second he had emerged from the wall and stepped onto the platform and first hand witnessed the majestic one of a kind Hogwarts express he knew that he was a wizard. He would be off to Dursley free place, where he would be able to learn …. Whatever they taught Charms, Transfiguration, etc.

But the thought that had gained the most points in his heart of hearts was companionship, _Friends. _Something that he had been denied since his birth with the exception of few animals, for Dudley had seen to that. He had thought that he had friends, but how naive of think as such after the incident with Ron halway through summer.

He remembered stepping onto the same platform four years ago, his face all smiles on seeing the Hogwarts express, but now, seeing the same old train caused a small constriction to his heart. He looked around to find more than a few glares directed his way. Good thing that Sirius had calmly explained the situation to him. He was going to concentrate on his owls, whilst equipping his spell arsenal and keeping a low profile by avoiding his yearly death defying adventures.

He had a rising feeling that this year was going to be one of his worst, seeing as it had not started well beginning with the argument that had shaken Number 12 Grimmauld place from top to bottom. The nerve Ron had to claim that his actions were completely justifiable and the fault remained with him for coming behind him waging his tail like a dog.

Hermione had been tearful and apologetic over the fact that she had chosen Dumbledore over her best friend. She had sincerely apologized, though he hadn't paid her any heed in the aftermath of his fight with Ron. He had poured all the frustrations that he had been bottling up the whole summer into the fight with Ron and had felt instantly better. A year ago, he would've felt bad for fighting with Ron as he had during the Triwizard tournament. But, Hell, he had had enough of the jealous prat behavior from Ron.

Summer had been rather tense with Ron and Harry on non-speaking terms. The arrival of the prefect badge had caused the tension in the air to climb to unimaginable levels. The smug look on Ron's face after he had received the 'P' badge had sent Harry's temper soaring that all the glasses in the room had shattered under the influence of his accidental magic. Sirius had sensed his godson's frustration and had rushed him to the attic where they both spent the rest of the day with Buckbeak with Sirius recounting his pranks and escapades with the other marauders.

His magic, now that was a separate problem. It was as if it was out of control. It was partly to blame for his restlessness. The powerful wards around Sirius's house had prevented the ministry from getting a second go at him as he had barely made it out of the trial for use of underage magic. Throughout the summer he had been staring at his wand with thoughts of doing some magic. He had never felt such an urge in previous years but the past summer had been overwhelming to say the least.

When the dementors had attacked, his magic had reacted on its own accord, producing his patronus, acting as if it had been waiting to be called. One more fact that he had noticed while he was mourning over his expulsion was the case that he had not felt any amount of drain from his magic while he had cast the patronus. Usually he would feel his magic being depleted to a certain extent after performing the same spell, but he found this new change refreshing though he couldnt reason out the cause for the change.

The last but not the least of his problems was the old man, Dumbledore. He was slowly getting irritated by the fact that the old man was ignoring his presence. He had completely avoided him at the ministry after his hearing. At Grimmauld place, the old man had deliberately avoided facing Harry on more than one occasion.

Why he was doing this, Harry had no idea. The man had yet to ask him the full details of the happenings at the graveyard having not been present at school during the last weeks the term as McGonagall herself had acted as the Headmistress for the school. He suspected that the Headmaster had been out recruiting the Order.

He had given the gist of grabbing Cedric's body and the portkey and the details of the ritual but had collapsed from blood loss before describing the events of the duel, how Voldemort had struck him with the killing curse, how he had woken up with a severe hangover, to find his followers huddled around the unconscious from of their Dark Lord before he dragged his injured body towards Cedric and the portkey.

Damn, he still had nightmares of the green jet of light from Voldemorts wand flying gracefully towards him, Cedric's body dropping dead, limp without any movement. He involuntarily shuddered. Two killing curses, and yet he still had no explanation as to how he had survived both, though he did have a vague idea on the first one. He had hoped for Dumbledore to provide an insight on the matter, but it seemed that the old man was keen on avoiding him.

Dumbledore be damn, he was going to give up on the old man. He was going to wait for the old man to take his time and set things right. Anyway he had better things to worry about, like the Prophet slandering his name. He wondered how many in Hogwarts would be willing to believe the Prophets lies. The students had all believed Dumbledore's explanation at the end of the term, well he would have to wait and watch.

Harry sighed as he received a few more glares inside the train as he began towards the back of the train searching for a compartment. 'Damn, guess Fudge has most of the students on his side' thought Harry as he wearily made his way past the glares and stares directed his way.

He found an empty compartment and slid into it He quickly pulled out his wand and cast a small notice-me-not charm on his compartment. He was sure that wasn't going to be getting any visitors save Hermione, for he was at the end of the train and no one would bother searching for the-Boy–Who-Lies seeing as he had killed another student for the sake of fame as the Prophet so eloquently put it.

He gave his wand a small smile as he felt his magic pulsating through it. It had happened quite a few times that summer, every time he had picked it up with the intention of using some spell or the other he had experianced a tingling sensation and he had hastily dropped fearing the use of underage magic. He sighed considering the fact that he had nearly been expelled even with all his control though he wasnt

His first spell since 4th year, a Notice-Me-Not, he had used this particular spell in the maze last year to avoid plenty of Hagrid's devilish beasts. He shivered remembering his encounter with the acromantula. He felt a slight jerk as the train started moving.

Seeing the slowly disappearing platform Harry waited for a few minutes enjoying the scenery before falling asleep, not knowing the power behind the Privacy charm he had placed, not knowing that a certain bushy haired girl would never be able to find him even with her deliberately searching for him.

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**AUTHOR NOTES:****  
**

**Why Hello there,**

**I have given up on DBZ fics, and am currently into HP.**

**Dumbledore never bothered with the events of the graveyard. He knew that Voldemort had returned but before he could question Harry further, young Potter had collapsed. The details of the ritual are known by Dumbledore as well as the facts regarding Barth Crouch Jr.**

**HP/DG, Harry keeps his head low as he should and trains himself for facing Voldemort. **

**As you may have guessed, the removal of the horcrux inside Harry has helped in him getting full access to his magic. **

**Reviews and Suggestions are appreciated ….. **


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter-1**

* * *

The Hogwarts express pulled into Hogsmeade station, coming to a screeching halt a few seconds later. The usual white steam from the engine occupied the air around the platform as herds of students emerged from the train. Footsteps and chattering's filled the air as students from years two to seven made their way towards the carriages whilst the first years were collected by Prof. Grubbly Plank.

Harry Potter was one of the last to fill the last of the carriages owing to the fact that he had occupied the last compartment on the train. He got onto the last carriage expecting it to be empty, only to be surprised on seeing two Slytherin girls both of whom instantly snapped their mouths shut seeing a Gryffindor in their presence.

'Guess I have no choice, well, other than to reach the castle on foot I suppose' he thought before making himself comfortable, an awkward silence settling inside the carriage.

The carriage started towards the castle with Harry determinedly staring outside the carriage pretending to watch the scenery assuming him being able to see anything other than the darkness filling his surroundings while contemplating his course of action for his fifth year.

He had no idea on how Tom was acting, thanks to Molly Weasley, who had insisted on Harry staying out of the Orders business. What she didn't know was the fact that Sirius had made it his personal mission to fill Harry in on every miniscule detail of the Orders meeting. He claimed that Harry had earned the right to learn such information after the Triwizard Tornament. His lack of suprise on seeing Prof. Grubbly Plank on the platform was due to the fact that he knew that Hagrid and Madame Maxime were on a Giant-Recruitment trip.

Sharing the room with his Godfather hadn't helped Mrs. Wealey's cause. The two of them spent most of their time chatting, catching up on old stories, etc. The rest of the Weasley's had spent their time cleaning the house, ridding it off of the filth that had accumulated over the past years. Whilst it was true that he felt a tad bit guilty for not joining them in the work, he supressed the feeling knowing that every second that he spent with his god-father was worth in the end.

His luck hadn't lasted long enough though for, Ron had pointed out during dinner one day that they were doing all the work and that Harry was wasting his time fooling around. Before an argument could break out, Mrs. Weasley had stepped in scolding Ron, telling him off to mind his own business though Harry could easily sense the small edge in her voice. Her scolding had been half-hearted since he could feel she shared Ron's opinion on the matter but had chosen to be polite.

The next day he had gone down and had helped her clean out the kitchens where the maniac of a house-elf that Sirius owned had stowed dozens of heirlooms and dark artifacts which had once belonged to Sirius's mother. He had been bitten by a more than a few Doxies, but luckily enough Mrs. Weasley had been prepared with a few concoction's she had purchased from Diagon-Alley that counteracted the Doxi-Venom. He suffered the most at the hands of a few pixies which had taken to throwing stuff on him which included knives, blades, Kreacher, etc. before Sirius had come to his aid, immobilizing them with a wave of his wand.

Cleaning the house had taken a toll on him, true, but he had been more irritated at the fact that it had taken away most of the time he had been planning to spend with his godfather. He shook his head wearily wanting nothing more than to head straight to his Gryffindor dorm room, where his beautiful four poster bed would be waiting for him.

Harry was shaken out of his thoughts as the Carriage buckled a bit due the uneven road to Hogwarts. A small frown adored his features as he took in the silence surrounding him, 'Have my ears gone deaf? Where are those insults?' With a confused look he turned to look at the two Slytherin girls sharing the compartment.

He caught the blonde haired girl staring at him though she abruptly turned away pretending to be interested in her handbag. He raised his eyebrows, noticing for the first time that she had deep blue Cerulean eyes. She was wearing the usual school robes, with the Slytherin crest engraved on it.

He turned to look at the other girl who simply smirked at him, boldly staring into his eyes. She had Raven black hair with Hazel eyes that sparkled with mischief or was it amusement. She opened her mouth to say something but seemed to decide against it, opting to keep her mouth closed. He didn't recognize either of the girls but he knew that both of them were in is his year. He remembered seeing their faces in the background of the classes he had shared with the Slytherins in the past years. Ah yes, Daphne Greengrass was it, the Ice-Queen and her friend Tracey Davis who were among the top five in their year. Hermione had many a times grumbled about the threat they posed to her First Rank tittle. No matter, she needn't worry about them anymore, as suffice to say he was the one who was going to knock Hermione out of her first place.

Harry suppressed a sigh, his gaze flipping back the forest outside 'Fine, Maybe it's my lucky day or something. If they aren't going to insult me then why should I think otherwise, though these girls have to be the first Slytherins who haven't insulted insult Harry Boddy Potter at first glance. Then again,they arent a part of Malfoy's gang of cronies so i guess I am just expecting too much out of them' he mused trying to remeber the other details that Hermione had provided regarding the pair of them.

Speaking of Malfoy, he was glad that he hadn't encountered the prat up until now. If only the ferret would leave him alone this year, but no, his ego would have doubled with the return of Voldemort. He would have without a doubt spent the entire summer learning how to kiss Voldemort's feet from Daddy, who had proven to be an expert in such matters time after time, dating from Voldemort to Fudge and then again to Voldemort.

He absently glanced back at the blonde haired girl. He raised his eyebrows catching her cerulean eyes focused on him once again. The carriage stopped at that precise moment diverting his attention away from the two girls, making him bite back a snappy remark. Seeing that the girls weren't going to make a move, he gathered his trunk and jumped out of the carriage making his way towards the entrance hall ignoring a few stares.

He had less taken less than 5 steps before coming face to face with an irate Hermione. She emitted a low growl but didn't say anything otherwise, motioning him towards the feast. He sighed following her like a loyal puppy. He didn't know why, but he felt the sudden desire to turn around, an eerie feeling of having someone's eyes on him. Giving into his desire, his head rotated by ninety degrees with his body finished the remaining ninety while his eyes scanned the area only to land on the same Slytherin girl. Cerulean blue eyes met Neon Green for the briefest of seconds before the contact was broken by the crowd of students.

"What are you looking at, Harry?" called his friend.

"Ummm … Nothing" he replied, allowing himself to be steered towards the feast.

* * *

The welcoming feast went, more or less as Harry had expected. The students barricaded themselves from him, which was expected considering the stories the prophet was printing about him. It had bothered him a bit but he had shrugged it off claiming it off as their loss. He had Hermione by his side, with Neville on his opposite and Ginny by his other side.

Neville for that matter hadn't asked a single question regarding the rise of the Dark lord and Harry had mentally applauded the boy for it. A boy whom he hadn't properly acknowledged save for a handful of times since coming to Hogwarts was willing to accept him, while ...… Harry glanced at Ron who was busy at the moment trying his level best to strike a conversation with Seamus and Dean.

"Harry, where were you on the train? I was looking for you everywhere." Hermione scowled.

"I was in one of the last compartments, towards the end of the train" Harry replied offhandedly, remembering himself casting the Notice-Me-Not charm, 'But the charm should've failed if she was deliberately looking for me' he thought.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "So you want me to believe that you sat with a gang of Slytherins for the entire train ride, you must have had more than a few pleasant conversations"

"What …No, I had a compartment for myself" he replied before adding "As I cast a Notice- Me-Not Charm on my compartment"

"Figures, If you had cast the Charm on yourself I would've probably found you seeing as it doesn't stop people who are seeking you out. But wait, how did you manage to cover an entire Compartment with such a basic spell"

"Drop it Hermione, Its time for Dumbledore's Welcome speech and am not really in the mood to discuss academics" he said giving her a pleading look.

Deciding to drop it for the moment, Hermione started describing her vacation with her parents during the end of June and the first two weeks of July. She had spent the rest of July and August with the Weasley family at Grimmauld place. Harry politely nodded asking a few silly questions here and there, though most of his attention was focused on a new face sitting at the staff table.

She was dressed in all pink and had a distinct toad like face. She held her head high, gazing around the staff table as though her going-to-be co-workers were beneath her. Harry had a distinct feeling of seeing her before but he couldn't quite place his finger on the time and location. He unconsciously bit his lip, his forehead scrunched up in concentration as he sought out memory after memory searching for her picture.

His eyebrows shot up past his forehead as he remembered the same toad like woman he had spotted sitting near Fudge at his hearing. She had been one of the first to raise her hands in favor of his conviction and had worn a look of triumph, though it had turned to a look of defeat and anger when he had been cleared. She was Fudge's senior undersecretary, and if his memory served correctly Sirius had warned that Fudge might post a spy within Hogwarts to monitor Dumbledore's actions.

The hall fell silent as the ancient Headmaster rose to his feet, "To all the new students 'Welcome' and to all others, 'Welcome back' to another year of magical education. Now as oer usual, our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that magic in the corridors is strictly forbidden and …." The customary instructions were given, though Hermione and the others got a shock when the headmaster announced that Hagrid was on temporary leave and that a substitute professor had been arranged. She felt ashamed that she hadn't noticed Hagrid's absence both at the platform and at the staff table though she didn't enquire on his casual look.

Harry watched in amusement as the toad was introduced by Dumbledore as Dolores Jane Umbridge who would be filling in as the Defense against the Dark Arts professor for the year. The student body got a huge surprise when the toad had the audacity to interrupt the headmaster, starting her own introduction speech. The teachers wore identical expressions of fury. While three-fourths of students gave the woman curious and annoyed looks, the Slytherins looked positively gleeful at seeing the toad disrespect the Headmaster.

Harry tuned out most of the speech as he couldn't make head or tail of the riddles she was talking in though he could see that Hermione was paying rapt attention, the frown on her face increasing with each word. He snorted when she ended saying "…. I am sure that we will all be the best of friends" earning a disapproving look from Hermione.

The feast ended with Dumbledore continuing his speech from where he was interrupted, before dismissing them off to their dorms. Hermione leaned in towards Harry's ear and whispered the password to the Gryffindor common room giving him a slight nod. He gave her a small smile, though she would never know how much he had appreciated her presence of mind. This way he would be able to put off the interrogation and the stares, or at the very least postpone them till a later date.

He didn't expect the Gryffindor's to side with him, no, that would be naïve of him, and he was past those silly expectations. Ron's behavior had shown him all that it was better to not have any expectations than face the cold truth later on.

He hadn't shown it, but he had been greatly annoyed by the glares that Seamus had sent his way during the feast. He was sure that his perceptive bushy haired friend had also noticed seeing as she wasn't one to break the usual custom of the first-years being the first to enter the common room.

He slipped away from the crowds into one of the many secret passages of Hogwarts and appeared at the foot of the Gryffindor tower. He raced up the constantly changing staircases to reach the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Grindylows" he muttered the password making the Fat Lady aware of his presence.

"My, my, Harry, What brings you to the tower so early on?" she asked in her chirpy voice.

He chose to ignore her and repeated the password, eyes fixed on the floor below.

She sighed, but relented by swinging forward allowing him into the common room. He did hear her call out that she was on his and Dumbledore's side making him reconsider whether or not, he and Dumbledore were on the same side. He didn't mind the portraits opinion as it wasn't going to play much of factor in reducing his problems, seeing as he couldn't imagine Fudge being convinced to draw the stick out of his arse by a portrait.

He entered his dorm room to find his trunk and belongings, safely delivered by the house elves at his bedside. Whipping out a towel from his trunk, he threw it over his shoulder, readying himself for a nice hot bath. He sighed as he heard footsteps, indicating the arrival of his year-mates. He slipped into the bathroom just as Seamus's head whipped into sight.

By the time Harry emerged from the bathroom, the other boys were halfway through their unpacking. Underwear's, jumpers, posters filled their dorm floor. Without as much as a word to anyone he hung his towel over his four poster bed. Ignoring the blatant stares he was receiving from his year mates he started unpacking his trunk.

Sirius had told him that both his mom and dad had gotten 7 O.W.L.S each. His mother had gotten O's in Potions, Charms, Defense and Ancient Runes while his father had nailed O's in Charms, Transfiguration and Defence. Sirius himself had gotten 7 O.W.L.S with three O's.

Compared to his parents and his Godfather, Harry deemed his grades to be decent or acceptable, though not good enough. He had by some sort of luck or other held onto the top grades for Defense in the past four years but he had barely scarped an E.E in Charms and Transfiguration. He considered himself borderline adequate in potions and was confident that he would have managed at least an E.E were it not for Snape's infuriating taunts and bullying.

Making up his mind to put a bit more effort into his academics for the first time in over four years was one of the few positive attributes he had gotten out of his fight with Ron. After all, he would need every edge he could get in order to come out alive after another encounter with Voldemort which he reckoned was earlier than most would expect. Sirius had claimed that his mother would have bitten his head off for his current grades. Though Sirius had meant it as a joke, it had served to only increase the sudden thirst to prove himself.

He had often wondered how his life would've been without Voldemort, with his parents alive. Would it have been his father who would've taught him to ride a broom? Would it have been his mother and not Mrs. Weasley who would hug him at Kings Cross? Would they be proud of him? What would they say to their son being the youngest seeker in a century? He could only speculate, for he would never have the right answers.

"My mum didn't want me to return to Hogwarts" Seamus declared loudly "She's afraid that it isn't safe anymore, with a 'Killer' in my dorm"

Harry knew without turning back that all four pairs of eyes were on him. He inwardly smirked at Seamus's pathetic attempt to get him riled up. He knew that though Ron didn't approve of Seamus's accusation, the red haired boy wouldn't be stepping in on Harry's behalf. Neville would remain neutral with Dean leaning a bit towards Seamus. Furthermore he had no intention of going to bed in a sour mood, for he was sure that if he started an argument with Seamus boy it wouldn't end without him hexing the Irish boy into oblivion.

Seamus however had other ideas, "Why are you back here Potter?" he yelled startling the other three.

Harry began whistling a small tune whilst rearranging his towels, robes and books in their respective places. He took out one of the photos of his parents whilst they were in Hogwarts, Lily snuggled up in James arms as they viewed the sunset at the Lake shore, letting out a wistful sigh before placing it on his bedside table. He knew that the Irish's boys face was getting redder and redder with each second, but chose to be indifferent. He showed no indication of acknowledging neither the other boys words nor his presence which only served to further infuriate the boy.

The best way to shield himself this year was by adopting an indifferent attitude. Sirius had briefed him on the basics of Occlumency, seeing as belonging to the Ancient and most Noble House of Black did have a few perks. He shields were fragile at best without any holes and would crack even with the slightest of probing from a sufficiently accomplished Leglimens, but that was completely beyond the point.

The reason for learning basic Occlumecy was for him to get a better control over his emotions as encountering a Leglimens wasn't that common. Should he encounter a Leglimens he would feel enough intrusion to break eye contact which would be more than enough to protect his mind suffice to say that said person wasn't a Master Leglimens. Nonetheless, control over his emotions did not prevent the springing up of a new emotion, hurt.

He calmly jumped onto his bed drawing the curtains around with a flick of his wand before whispering a one side visibility charm on the curtains. Hermione had come up with it for the sake of his easier navigation through the maze. Though she had suspected that the tall grass forming the maze would have been charmed against such simple spells it had still been worth a try. Hell, he certainly wasn't regretting learning the charm, for now he had an equivalent of Television, seeing the reactions of his dorm-mates.

* * *

Seamus was beyond livid. How dare that filthy liar ignore him like he wasn't worth his time? Damn, Harry Bloody Potter was the reason he had to literally beg his mother to return to Hogwarts. How the hell did Dumbledore believe his spewed up old story of You-know-Who coming back from the dead? Hadn't Moody made it clear last year that no spell could reawaken the dead? Which also implied that Potter had murdered Diggory for the sake of winning the tournament. He didn't think for a second last year that Potter would resort to killing for the sake of fame. Potter would have been in Azkaban right now, weren't it for Dumbledore's influence.

He scowled at Potters bed, deciding against setting the curtains on fire. He suddenly smirked remembering how three-fourth of the hall had glared at Potter's back at the Start of the Term feast. Hell the Hufflepuff's had looked murderous, more so than the Slytherins. The Ravenclaws weren't far behind, though their hatred was mostly instigated by Chang and her gang.

Potter had half of Ravenclaw and half of Gryffindor, which was roughly one-fourth of the school populous as neutrals while the rest of school as enemies. It was definitely going to be an interesting year, espeically with the attack that Chang and her friends were planning the very next day. If they were bold enough to plan something like that on the very first day of school, he shuddered to think of what they might be planning for the rest of the year.

* * *

Harry woke up at 6:30 A.M feeling refreshed and slightly energetic. He removed the silencing ward around his bed, though he doubted that he needed them at this point. Since the graveyard incident he hadn't had any of those bizarre dreams and had been getting plenty of sleep unlike last year, during which he had been tormented with visions of Wormtail, Voldemort and sometimes Crouch Jr.

'First day of class, best to get ready' he thought throwing a towel over his shoulders and marching towards the bathroom ignoring the Weasley boy's snoring which he found was a bit more infuriating than before, probably due to the row. By the time he finished his affairs in the bathroom it was 7:00. Throwing on his Hogwarts robes he collected his book bag, stuffing his wand into his robes. He admired his looks in the mirror for a few seconds before making his way out of the dormitory.

He arrived at the great hall to find a familiar bushy-haired girl with her nose in the books. Chuckling lowly he occupied the seat opposite to her observing the rest of the great hall.

"Someone's early today" Hermione commented, eyes not straying from her book.

"Well, I had a good night's sleep without any of those stupid visions and besides, I am used to getting up early at the Dursleys to cook breakfast" he replied spreading jam onto his toast.

Hermione frowned a bit, "How come you never told me that those visions stopped?"

"Well, it's not like I miss them much but …" Harry paused, "Come to think of it, I haven't had any ever since the graveyard" he ended with a frown, faking surprise.

Hermione's attention was now focused solely on him, her book aside. "Harry, you ought to report this to Dumbledore"

Harry's expression closed off in the blink of an eye, as he shot Hermione a look of distaste which didn't go unnoticed by the bushy haired girl.

"What?" she asked

"Nothing" he murmured, taking a bit into his toast.

Deciding to drop the subject, "Parvati and Lavender asked about you last night?"

"What? Oh right, they must have Inquired whether or not I killed Cedric?" he drawled sarcastically.

"Actually yes, and they seemed to believe you. Parvati defended you, stating that you didn't seem like the kind of guy to commit murder"

Harry snorted, 'That's new' he thought.

"Harry, whether you believe it or not, some people really do hold you in high esteem. They have seen you for four years and they know that you aren't an attention seeking whore as most of the school or prophet so crudely put it. You really need to extend your relations beyond Gryffindor, me and Ron. I know that this year is …."

Hermione stopped seeing the look of anger on Harry's face. True, she hadn't really seen Harry getting worked up, unlike Ron who seemed to blow up at every corner, but the sight before her was a tad bit scary. She could feel his magic pulsating around them. Weird, she had never felt like this.

"You think that just because two of your dorm-mates say otherwise means that you can apply the same to the rest of the school. Hermione, why are you trying to pacify things between me and the rest of the … those idiots. Why do you want to pretend as though nothing is wrong between me and the rest of the school? I was accused of being a murderer by Seamus last night" Hermione gasped, as Harry's tone softened a bit "and he was a fellow Gryffindor. I am sick of being called those names. The fools can call me whatever they want, but the fact remains, that Voldemort is back and they refuse to acknowledge it. If they don't do something about it, people as well as the ministry is going to be ill-prepared for the war giving Tom a huge advantage"

Harry sighed, using his hands to cover his face. He shouldn't have taken it out on Hermione, Damn. He had been nonchalant to Seamus's words last night, but that didn't mean that he hadn't gotten worked up. More than anger, he was feeling hurt. The same boy who had cheered him on for supposedly putting his name in the Goblet of Fire, rooting for him throughout the tornament had to come to the point of accusing him of murder.

It just showed how naïve people were, or how naïve he had been. Hadn't the Dueling club incident during his second year proven how narrow minded people were? Ignorant fools, he could almost imagine the lot of them coming back, kissing his feet once Voldemort moved into the open making his return public knowledge.

"Look Hermione, I am sorry, alright?" he said, seeing the startled look on the girls face, "It's just this stupid behavior that's getting to me" eyeing a Hufflepuff with a dark look, whose eyes, he would have sworn was on him a few seconds back.

"It's alright Harry, I just want you to open up a bit more. You spent the whole of summer with Sir … Padfoot and sort of like avoided us. Even now I feel like you're kind of distant" she replied choosing her words carefully, "I understand that you're mad that we chose not to write to you during summer, but don't you think that you have punished us … me long enough" Harry's eyes softened a bit and he gave a huge sigh.

"No, it's not you I am mad with and I forgave you a long time ago Hermione, and as for … Hermione, there is something that i haven't told anyone, not even Dumbledore" he said with as a sacred look entered his eyes, though it lasted only for a few seconds before it was replaced with a look of uncertainty.

He look at her, straight in the eyes as though he were judging her very stared back into his green eyes with her brwon ones undeterred, knowing that she would need to make a choice between the Headmaster and her friend, if not now, then very soon. It wasn't the Headmaster who saved her from the troll, nor was he the one to befriend Hogwarts resident bookworm. She had made the mistake once but not again, now that she knew how much she needed him.

"I … You know, I think I need to … go ... go get my Charms essay. I think I left it in my dorm" Harry stuttering, jamming the remaining toast into his mouth and gulping down his pumpkin juice before bidding a hasty goodbye. She watched with a sad smile on her face as he rushed out of the hall, knowing that there wasn't a Charms essay in first place.

Whatever that had been at the tip of his tongue, was something deadly serious. She had only once seen that look on Harry's eyes, the look of Death and that had been right after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. He had been bursting to tell her, yet had held back after replaying her actions. She knew that Harry felt sort of … betrayed no matter how vague that feeling was, it was something she was sure that Harry must never again feel.

She frowned seeing Ron Weasley tagging along like a loyal dog, behind Dean and Seamus. The read head and her, looking back properly over the last few years, they were all that Harry had and that too had now been reduced to one. Sirius didn't count much, as he couldn't leave Grimmauld place.

'How thick can that boy be?' she thought seeing Ron laughing at Seamus's joke. 'Does four years of friendship account to nothing? How can Ron associate with that … that fiend … who had called their best mate a murderer?'

She shook her head in frustration; the school drama was dampening her mood. Ron Weasley was at the bottom of her problems. His attitude was going to be the death of him and besides, she had a strong feeling that his silly fight with Harry may have been due to his sudden unpopularity among the masses. She needed to regain Harry's trust, 'O.W.L.S, Dumbledore and Weasley be damn' she thought shutting her book with a small snap.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter**-**2**

Harry rushed out of the great hall with no particular destination in mind. He kept walking until he reached the Castle's doors. Knowing that he hadn't gotten his schedule and had to return to the great hall sooner or later he settled with heading out towards the Black Lake. The wind picked up, making his hair messier than usual, as his locks fluttered over his forehead.

He settled down on the bank, gazing serenely at the beauty of Nature in front of him. He caught a glimpse of the Giant Squids tentacles grazing the water surface. His thoughts drifted along the direction of the Dark Lord, the trouble and threat he posed and the side effects he had been subjected to, owing to said Bastard not moving into the open. Though it was better this way, for if the Dark Lord moved into the open the disappearances and Chaos that prevailed during the first war would repeat. But it posed the serious threat of the Ministry being unprepared and more vulnerable than last time which implied that once Voldemort moved into the open, it would be almost effortless for him to overthrow the ministry.

Damn, why couldn't his life be normal, could it get any more Fucked up than this. Gritting his teeth in frustration he whipped out his wand and sent a _Reducto_ towards the lake creating a small tidal wave. His eyes bulged to the size of a tennis ball as Water soaked his entire body including his freshly ironed robes. It took him a few seconds to get over the fact that his simple Reductor Curse had managed to create a small tidal wave. Wiping the water on his glasses with the back of his hands, he cast a quick drying Charm on his hair and clothes before plopping down once more at the edge of the bank deep in thought. He just couldn't fathom how his spell casting had out of the blue gained this much Power.

His _Reducto's_ were barely able to disintegrate a medium-sized Rock at the end of last year, and he hadn't cast a spell since, well save for the _Patronus_ which nearly had him expelled, then how could his spell work have increased so dramatically over a period of two months with no effort? He sighed, feeling distressed about not having answers to too many of his questions. He would've gone to the Headmaster had they been on speaking terms, but ….

"Harry" He whipped his head around to find Hermione staring at him with concerned eyes. She was looking at him with that tender look in her eyes, as though he were a fragile thing and would break should she stare hard enough. It only served to add to his already mounting frustration.

"Oh .. Hey Hermione" he replied picking himself up from the ground without meeting her eyes, keeping his tone as controlled as possible.

"Your schedule" she said handing over a Parchment. A quick glance blesses him with the absence of Potions, for the day. A good start, Double Transfiguration followed by an hour of History of Magic before lunch and Double Charms and Divination in the afternoon. He shared Potions, Charms and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, Divination and History of Magic with the Ravenclaws which left DADA, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins.

'Not bad' he thought, a small smile gracing his lips at the thought of NOT having Potions with the Slytherins for the first time in four years. So he had to simply deal with Snape, only Snape, which wouldn't be much of a problem if he carried out his plan of inserting a bit more effort into memorizing.

He heard Hermione let out a relieved sigh before motioning him towards the castle. No words were exchanged until they reached the Transfiguration classroom and Harry was inwardly relieved that Hermione chosen to not comfort him. She had somehow magically contracted the idea that he was drowning in depression, soon after his fallout with Ron, and had been on his case, night and day to get him to talk.

The classroom was devoid of any of the loudmouth Slytherins and of his fellow Gryffindor's. Taking a seat towards the back of the classroom he motioned Hermione towards his adjacent seat, for he couldn't think of any bloke who would be willing to sit next to him. He pulled out his fifteen inch essay on the increment of Transfigured objects and its effectiveness from his backpack and began going through it, looking for any errors. He caught Hermione's raised eyebrow out of the corner of his eye, though she chose to not comment. His bushy haired friend feigned obliviousness and pulled out her own essay, mirroring his actions though he could tell that she was surprised by his actions.

A few minutes later the sound of quiet footsteps and low chuckles caught Harry's attention. His eyes strayed away from the parchment in his hands to find Greengrass and Davis enter the classroom. Seeing no threat his gaze dropped back to essay, though he could sense the girl's eyes roam over his features and then Hermione's, though his bushy haired friend was too preoccupied to notice.

Their conversation dropped several notes as they moved towards the front of the classroom. Whipping out his wand he cast a few privacy charms around himself and Hermione, gaining the attention of his female friend. She shot him a questioning look but he simply jerked his head towards the Slytherins. Her answer was a frown which softened a bit in what appeared to be recognition.

"Who are those girls Hermione?"

"I thought you would know Harry, the blonde's Daphne Greengrass and the other is her friend Tracey Davis. We have had Potions with them for the past 4 years"

"I knew that Hermione" he said exasperated, "What I meant to ask was their attitude, because they don't seem like Slytherins save for their Uniform"

"Well, to be honest, I don't have a clue" she replied, "But, they are better than most Slytherins and I have rarely seen them integrate with Malfoy, not to mention that they haven't insulted me even once in the last four years"

Harry failed to hide his surprise, 'A Slytherin who hadn't insulted his Muggle-Born friend even once, now that was something new', "I didn't know that such Snakes existed" he exclaimed.

Hermione nodded, though she did shoot him a disapproving look at the mention of the word 'Snake'. "And I have a hunch that they don't like Malfoy that much" she said uncertainly.

Harry scoffed, 'Who does like Malfoy?' he thought. "How come?" he asked.

"Well, I was in the library the other day and they were like teasing him a lot. No wait, I know that Teasing isn't the same as Detesting, but you should've have heard the disgust that was laced in their tone. It was almost like hearing Ron's rants of Slytherin and how evil each of them are, etc."

Hermione's lips curled a bit, "Why the sudden interest Harry? You wouldn't happen to fancy one of them do you? I hear that Greengrass is quite the looker" she asked testily.

Harry shot her an incredulous look, "No. I kind of like, shared a carriage with those two yesterday, and you know, I was surprised by the lack of insults. To be frank I didn't realize that those two were in our year let alone act so Non-Snakish until yesterday"

"Well, that may be due to the fact that Tracey Davis is a Half-Blood. Her only friend is Greengrass and they kind of stick to each other. I would call them outcasts, but, there are a lot like those two in Slytherin" she replied

"Oh, talk about Intra-House unity" he snorted.

"Actually Harry, it's not just them. Most of Slytherin House is sort of, scattered. I know of many 6th and 7th years such as McCourt, Zabini, Higgs, etc. Prefer to stay out of Malfoy's way. They tolerate him only for the sake of his father"

"Wait, isn't Blaise in our year" he asked

"Yeah, but I was referring to his sister Barbara Zabini"

He threw her a puzzled look, "And just how do you know all this?"

Hermione smiled sweetly, "Oh, I tend to keep my eyes and ears open, though Lavender and Parvati make it their daily business to keep me up to date on the school gossip before bed"

"And what was that bit about the other Slytherins tolerating Malfoy because of his father?"

"Harry, whether you recognize it or not, Lucius Malfoy, is an intimidating Political figure. From what I have heard, the Malfoy family is well off, and that's saying something as what I have heard does not include any illegal activities. Furthermore, the return of V-Voldemort would have increased the panic and fear of those if any, who have stood up against him in the past-"

"What? How? Surely, no one believes that Voldemort is back, especially after Fudge's smear campaign against me" Harry interrupted.

"Oh Honestly Harry, Don't be so naïve. You didn't think that V-Voldemort would sit still right. He would have sent subtle messages through the shadows via Malfoy, inviting the other Pureblood families to join him or that's what I think he did during the last war"

Harry was furious, "Do you mean to tell me that all the Pureblood families know of Voldemorts return" he got out through gritted teeth.

"Well I suppose most in Slytherin and a few from the other houses would have gotten some sort of recruit invitation" she replied thoughtfully.

Forcefully clearing his mind of the thoughts on Voldemorts return, Harry returned to the other bit of information he had gotten from Hermione.

This particular information piqued his interest making him wonder and contemplate the life of such Slytherins. Being subjected to the wrath of your own housemates as well as the rest of the school, an issue he shared with those outcasts though it was more pronounced in his case. Up until now he had thought of all Slytherins to be the same, how naïve of him. Wasn't Peter Pettigrew a living proof that House at Hogwarts didn't matter one bit in the outside world.

How would his life have been, had he not met Ron and Malfoy on that fateful day. He was damn sure that he would be wearing robes of Green had it been the case. Would the schools views on Slytherins in general have changed due him being sorted into said house. Fat Chance, for they would have proclaimed him as the next Dark Lord let alone the problems he would be facing within that house of the snakes.

Feeling tempted to release a long suffering sigh; he switched his thoughts back to the Transfiguration essay which was easier said than done. The breakup with Ron prevailed over his mind as he couldn't figure out for the Love of Merlin as to why it bothered him so much. The bridge between them had been burnt the second his name arose from the thrice Damned Goblet of Fire. Their interactions after the first task had been that of acquaintances not mates.

He knew deep down that the only reason for Ron to approach after the First Task had been acceptance of the fact that no matter how hard he tried he would always been in the shadows of the Boy-Who-Lived. It was downright obvious that Ron had approached the Boy who had conquered a Dragon and not Harry Potter. When it became clear that staying with Harry Potter could only tarnish your reputation as becoming delusional he had cleared off like a ….

He ruthlessly crushed all thoughts about his former friend, if you could call him that. Being soaked up in his depression Harry failed to notice that the class had filled up for the officially first class of their fifth year.

Minerva McGonagall in all her glory stepped into the classroom, her non-nonsense persona fully active making all murmuring in the classroom cease as the young wizards paid rapt attention to her every movement.

What followed was long, dull and boring lecture that she was known to give all the O.W.L students at the beginning of every New Year, the purpose of which was to induce the importance of not taking these exams lightly, for its scores were indeed going to decide the field which every individual was going to uptake. Harry himself had no particular profession in mind since he had never given any thought on this particular topic since seeing his trust vault four years ago.

"I will not tolerate any more fooling around in this class. Should you want to take Transfiguration next year, I suggest that you manage to scrap at the least an 'Exceeds Expectations' in your O.W.L.S. Any student having a grade below that will not be permitted to enter my class" The strict professor looked glanced around the class making a few students squirm in their seats as her gaze swept past them.

"Now, Up until last year we spent the first two months reviewing the lesson of the previous year. However the syllabus takes sharp turn from fifth year on, making it impossible to make such revisions available. The shear amount of portions to be covered is just less than the syllabi of your previous two years combined. The first topic that we will be tackling is Conjuration, the basics and the advanced part of Conjuring simple items, such as Napkins, Socks, etc. Conjuration of more advanced objects and the modifications that may be inputted into such Conjurations will be seen further into the year. Unfortunately we are out of time, seeing as there is only ten more minutes. As for the Assignement, I want all of you to read up the first three Chapters on Conjuration and a 6 foot essay on the basic magic's and spell theory involved in Cojuration which should help you to get in sync with my class, without which, I dare say you will fail miserably. Now, Class Dismissed!" she barked out the last two words as the student body warily rose from their seats.

* * *

After Lunch, Harry and Hermione headed to Charms, hypothetically sticking to each other. Hermione refused to acknowledge Ron and said boy chose to do the same, though it didn't stop him from glaring daggers at Harry.

During Lunch, Harry had chosen to sit among his Quidditch teammates seeing as they treated him warmly sparing him from the reproachful and unwelcome looks and gestures at some areas of the Gryffindor table. Angelina Johnson, who had been made Quidditch captain as expected, informed him that she would be holding the try-outs for all positions and that he would have to earn his spot once more though she complimented him saying that she had faith in his abilities.

The try-outs got the wheels turning in Harry's head as he reconsidered his place as a Seeker. Seeker's needed to be small, agile and lighter than a feather. He was 15 and had developed a decent amount of Muscle under his baggy clothes. Though the Dursleys had underfed him his Bone weight and newly attained height had made him adequately heavy.

Maybe he could have a shot at being a Chaser, as he particularly didn't care if he didn't make it to the team, as he could easily swap Quiddditch practise time for some serious training in preparation for Voldemort, seeing as a he had gut instinct that said Bastard would be after him. The Things that he had deemed insignificant during his past years at Hogwarts, suddenly seemed to have some or the other importance. The prime example was breakfast, which he had started to stuff himself with in an effort to bulk up his thin body, leaving out the fact that he was starting to feel hungry and seemed to eat a lot more than usual.

He greeted the jovial Charms professor as he entered the classroom, once again occupying the last seat. He couldn't quite place it, but he was feeling kind of wary or paranoid was more like it. Having his back turned to people suddenly didn't seem to sit with him all too well, especially after the blatant hostility of his peers. Damn, he should be worrying about Voldemort sticking his wand behind his back, not his bigoted, brain dead classmates.

The Charms professor began his own speech about the O.W.L.S making Harry's eyes droop in drowsiness.

* * *

Classes for the first day at Hogwarts ended at 4:30, as Harry wearily returned to the privacy of his dorm. He knew better than to use the common room, lest he avoid creating a scene with one of his supposed fellow Gryffindor's. Hermione had been his only companion throughout the day, though her constant rants and berating's was slowly getting in on his nerves.

Ignoring the pointed stares and whispering was one thing, but glares and looks of loathing were becoming increasingly annoying for him to ignore. He never expected the year to be pleasant, no, which would be naïve of him, but this, was a bit extreme. Were all Wizarding folk, walking around with little to no Brain Cells, because it certainly seemed that way.

How could they accuse him of murder? Shouldn't their common sense make them realise that, if he really were a murderer, then Fudge would have seen to it that he was rotting in Azkaban, let alone attend school like a free man. Then again, every action of his peers, made it clear that, Human logic was foreign to the Wizarding World.

He plopped down on his bed, drawing the curtains around him, relishing in the warmth of his bed. It felt good to be devoid of the scathing looks of his peers.

A few seconds later, Harry suddenly sat up straight. No. He couldn't relax. Not with Lord Moldy Shorts out there. His vows and promises of the night before flashed through his mind, making him pull out the Essays and Assignments that he was required to complete. One glance through them proved that, completing them would take time, precious time, which he was short of.

His mind began to race as he thought out various possibilities to buy some time. Divination and HoM, he didn't give a damn about, seeing as they weren't going to help him rid the world of a Megalo-Maniac who seemed hell-bent in making his life a living hell. He threw back the material for HoM and Divination back into his bag as he pulled out the notes for the classes of Charms and Transfiguration that he had attended.

The next hour was a blur as Harry reviewed and read every single detail he had taken notes on. As he finished the last of his Charm notes a warm feeling arose from his heart, the satisfaction of mastering something. He couldn't pinpoint what that 'something' was, but suffice to say, he felt elated and slightly lightheaded.

'Now for the Essays' he thought readying his quill and parchment. Harry stared at the blank parchment in front of him for a few seconds before mentally slapping himself. How could he expect to write an essay without the tiniest amount of research? And the one place he had access to, where he could find the required information was the Library. Placing the Parchment and quills back on his bed, he dashed out of his bed flinging the curtains out of his way.

Just before the entrance to the fifth year boy's dorm, he froze. A calculating look passes over the fifteen year old before he calmly walked towards his trunk and pulled out both, his Invisibility Cloak as well as the Marauders Map.

Seeing the hazard display of his notes and writing material's scattered on his bed, he pulled out his wand to pull the curtains together around his bed. For the sake of performing some magic, he whipped out a few privacy Charms around his bed. Not too complex but enough to hold out his dorm-mates, that is against minor hexes and curses.

He not-so-Solemnly Swore that he was up to no good, making the Marauders map burst with information on the locations of all the buzzing lives of Hogwarts Castle. With a small smile he threw his father's cloak over himself and felt the satisfaction of becoming Invisible.

Ten minutes later, the Library did not see an Invivble Harry Potter, as said boy started walking along the Transfiguration section, looking for anything and everything to do with Conjuration. He picked three different type of books, which he narrowed down were the most accurate and apt books for him, of not for others.

The three books didn't narrow down the art of Cojuration to small artifacts and minor spells in general as needed for McGonagall's essay, but provided the facts and theories combined with the spells for Conjuring each and almost everything. Two of the books he had picked, were on the explanations about the magical properties and theories of Conjuration, while the last one contained the real spells required for Conjuration.

He browsed the Charm section for reference to the prescribed Animation Charms essay and found a large book named, "Animate the World" by Charles McMasque which seemed to cover both the finer aspects of Casting as well as Spell work. Dee

Balancing the Four large books in one hand, he looked around briefly before slipping off his Invisibility Cloak and stuffing it into his pocket. He silently made his way towards Madam Prince who seemed surprised that he was carrying three big books, that too at the start of the term. She masked her surprise quickly by schooling her features, as she signed the books to be taken out of the library with a small huff.

He was barely out of the library, when he threw his father's cloak over to become invisible to the eyes of the naïve students of Hogwarts. A good thing too, as he breathed a sigh of relief seeing as a moment later his bushy haired friend appeared around the corner, a small bundle of books clutched to her chest.

'Really Hermione' he thought as he stood by and watched her rush into the library as though it was one of her scheduled classes.

Shaking his head at his Bushy haired friend, Harry started walking in the direction of the Gryffindor tower, only to realize a few steps later, the tedious work of carrying four heavy books. Slapping himself for forgetting that he was a Wizard he carefully, shrunk the books and slipped them into his pocket, whilst ensuring his invisibility.

'Now, for some serious studying' he thought as he took a few shortcuts to reach the Gryffindor tower. He glanced at his watch, noting with satisfaction that it was just 5:53 in the evening. He waited outside the Portrait of the Fat Lady not daring to enter, knowing that the common room would be full this time round and the portrait swinging open without anyone was bound to raise suspicion.

His patience was rewarded as a few minutes later, a 3rd year Gryffindor entered the Portrait giving him ample time to slip into the common room unnoticed.

As expected it was full to the brim, with chattering's and laughter. A few girl giggles erupted from a group of third year girls making Harry cover his ears in fake annoyance.

He waded towards the dorm rooms, fully intent on finishing both of his essays when a nearby conversation snatched his attention far away from studies.

" …. Potter … ya … Yes Chang …"

" … tomorrow … Anthony too …"

" … will … fun …."

'What about me and Cho?' Harry thought moving towards the source of sounds to find Ron, Dean, and Seamus huddled together playing a game Exploding Snap.

" … the Hufflepuff's are quite mad. I heard that even Professor Sprout was unhappy with Dumbledore about bringing him back" Seamus was saying.

"Really, I heard that the group of Hufflepuff's in our year are planning on an Ambush Prank of sorts. That's two out of four houses already" said Dean with a laugh.

"It's three on four factually, seeing as how Potter and the Snakes pick a fight each and every day. I mean really, one would think that Potter fancies Malfoy seeing as they can't seem to pass one day without at least one confrontation. And if that is how they flirt …" Ron was cut off by the snickering's from the other two boys.

Seamus suddenly masked his face, into one of an interrogator. "Well, what about you Ron, You, Potter and Granger are practically joined at the hips for four years straight and then suddenly you come to us claiming that Potter's gone barmy"

Ron looked embarrassed for a second before saying, "Ya know guys, that split between us was long time overdue. I knew he was Attention seeking prat the moment he entered his name in that tournament. It was the past three years of friendship that made me build a bridge between us after the first task, flimsy it may be though it got burnt to crisp after our last argument"

Seamus and Dean seemed to accept the explanation, their facial expressions now devoid of suspicion "Who do you reckon is up with Potter in Gryffindor?" Seamus asked throwing questioning glances at all the people in the common room.

"Well the Quidditch team seems friendly enough, though I haven't got a clue to anyone else" Ron said with a shrug.

"What's it matter anyways? That's enough Potty for one day. Now did you check out Romilda's new …" Dean cut in making the other two boys adopt Wolfish expressions.

* * *

Harry numbly registered his legs carrying him towards his dorm. He ripped apart the curtains and plopped down on his bed, a sense of Betrayal filling his body.

He wasn't surprised, no, he definitely wasn't. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Weasley made his move of supposedly proving himself. Worse still, was the fact that Ron knew the truth, Hell his parents were in Dumbledore's order doing their best to retard his rise to power.

He knew that Ron would be doing plenty of cheap things to earn the favour of his dorm and House mates, but it still surprised him that it came too soon. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't that unpredictable seeing as Ron regularly hung around with him and Hermione. Just like himself and Hermione, Ron did not have many friends, not even in Gryffindor. The three of them had struck together, never giving a second thought on what one would do without the other two.

He had held Hermione and Ron together, steadfast and past their bickering's and disagreements. Ron and Hermione were the best examples of two Polar opposites and the two would never have gotten along without him, a fact that he would have never given a thought about, a few weeks ago.

'I guess it took losing one of them to acknowledge my importance' he thought sardonically. Contrary to what people might say, he had never considered himself to be extraordinary, just above average, that's all, in both studies as well as among other things.

During his introduction to the Wizarding world, he had felt ashamed and embarrassed of his status as the Boy-Who-Lived. He was by no means extraordinary, just Harry, that's who he was.

The people built their own opinions on him based, constructing a persona of how they wanted him to be, rather than allow him to be what he wished to be. He outright hated people like Skeeter who made it a point to dig into other people's lives, writing fabled gossip and blatant lies. What pissed him off more than such stories were the people who put their blind faith and belief in such articles, holding the Prophet sacred as though it were the Bible.

Logic was seemingly non-existent among the Wizarding Populace much to his chagrin. Away with the idiocy of the Wizarding community his thoughts fell back to Ron... No... Weasley. Double crossing, filthy glory-seeking scumbag, were the exact words Harry now felt were best to describe his 'Friend' of four years.

That Bastard knew that he didn't enter his name in the thrice damned Goblet, yet he conveniently used the incident to buy his way into Seamus and Dean's circle. No one practically knew of Crouch, except for a few of the staff, Dumbledore and the then Golden Trio, and of course the bumbling fool Fudge.

The worst feeling that came along with the Red-heads Betrayal was unfortunately not anger, but Sadness and hurt. He pitied himself for not being able to feel anger, a necessary feeling among Humans, yet he felt Sad and though he loath to admit it, Loneliness. The same feeling he remembered feeling while being locked up in his dark cupboard without a ray of light while he munched away on a rotten, dried piece of bread that stray dogs would pass up without so much as a sniff.

Sitting up with a grim look, he folded his legs and closed his eyes, slowly relaxing his body until his labored breathing became even. He let out a long suffering sigh before attempting to clear his damn mind of all thoughts and emotions.

He landed once more on a landscape that he had come to visit more than a few times during the last month. As instructed by the book given by Sirius, he began sorting through his memories, piling them into his own imaginative library which he had gone through Hell to create.

Only after sorting through his lifetime of memories which summed up to 15 years, up until now would he be able to form defenses and mental barriers, which comprised of the intermediate stage of Occlumency.

Sorting out your memories enabled him to check on his thoughts and ideas with relative ease and quickness. The main perk of doing so would be being able to detect the attack by a Legilimens, though he wouldn't be able to even push out the said invader let alone hold the attack out of his mind.

But, no matter, he was still making progress and he certainly could not expect to become a Master Occlumens overnight, even for the Boy-Who-Lived. He would be finished sorting through his memories in around three days after which he could begin the fun and more exciting work of constructing Barriers.

Opening his eyes, he glanced at his watch to find out that it was 6:45 in the evening. Cursing himself for the lack of Concentration, he pulled out the books he had borrowed from the Library and un-shrunk them diving into the book on Animation Charms, all other thoughts and events temporarily forgotten.

* * *

As the Boy-Who-Lived was living upto his steely resolve, the rest of the school was marred with confusion on said boys behavior. They had witnessed and observed throughout the day, how the once carefree and easy going boy had become hardened and more subdues with an odd gleam filling in his eyes. They supposed that he was finally repenting for his crimes, though they were not satisfied.

The Hufflepuff's wanted his blood for murdering their one student who had brought glory and fame to their supposed weak and peasant house. The Ravenclaws who had been rallied under Chang were out for his misery, for ruining Chang's life. The jealous witch had managed to bag one of the most desirable Wizards in Hogwarts, only to have him murdered by a fellow Champion, and said Champion was let off scott free, while he should be rotting in Azkaban. She had gathered together some of her fan's, such as Anthony Golstein for support in justifying and punishing Potter's deeds.

The remaining Ravenclaws watched on in amusement knowing that the hatred that had filled the Hufflepuff's and their fellow mates was unreasonable. Their logic contradicted the rumour, as they had come to acknowledge it, of Potter murdering Diggory. They knew that even Dumbledore would'nt be able to keep Potter out of prison should he have really comitted murder, not with Amelia Bones as the head of the DMLE. They resolved that they would not interfere, unless and until of course their housemates came seeking for their involvement, in which case they would support them.

While the Slytherins under Malfoy hated Potter under principle, they knew that the Dark Lord was back, through their parent Death Eaters of course. The rest of Slytherin house, remained in the Shadows as usual, unmindful of Harry Potter and his cursed life.

The Gryffindor's were confused, to say the least. They didnt know what to expect of their famous Seeker and housemate. Most were angry at said Boy for sprouting lies about the return of You-Know-Who, but, really, who cares, as long as the boy caught the snitch in the next game.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

**Hope you enjoyed, the next Chapter will be longer with ... Sorry, No Revelations. Nothing major in the current Chapter. Its just basically settling in at Hogwarts, and the various mindsets that Harry is set on. The last paragraph briefly lets you know the various mindsets and opinions of the different houses. I will be making Harry interact with various members of each house, wherein letting you know how they feel about him. I wont be making swift changes in Harry's Character, nor in his Thinking process, but it will be a little more than subtle. I distributed the classes for that purpose alone. Among other things, you will find out in the next Chapter which I will try to upload as soon as possible. **


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